Tag Archives: Minoan Snake Goddess

Self-inflicted, Plus a Great Draw.

   We all know the story of me and my tattoos now, but did I mention, during all of that, how much I really, really dislike pain?!  I can’t stand the sound his machine makes, I can’t abide the scraping feel of the needle, I can barely stay in the damn chair.  And it’s a very comfortable chair too.  Ack.  I love my ink, I just hate the pain.

   Today I got a touch-up.  Nothing new, Wulff guarantees his work for life, and he’s very picky about when something looks “off” to him.  He would be stabbing me constantly if I let him.  I just won’t let him.  Faded or blurry does not bother me, the agony of his work bothers me.

   The pool is closed for a week, annual cleaning, so I’m out of the water.  (Yes, they did raise enough money to stay open through the end of this year.)  My swimmy/exercisey class is the only reason I’m not all bleedy all the time.  He’d have me in there, perfecting every little thing, if I wasn’t so dedicated to my class.  (Okay, dedicated is the wrong word, but I need to do something that involves movement, or I’d never get to eat frosting.)  (Flipping the pages of a library book does not burn as many calories as one would think.  I know.  I was disappointed as well.)

   We have arrived back at my “working” deck in our travels around the card altar.

      10 of Pentacles

   This is one of my all time favorites, and not just because it features a kindly grandfather type.  But because Pentacles are the source of monetary wealth.  In the poker deck they turned into diamonds, also signifying something of worth.  They are all about matter, something you can hold in your hand, trade for something else, or buy and sell.

    Ten is a number which shows up when we are in the process of change, cycles ending and beginning.  Very much like our recent run of rebirth cards, this one is showing us that what we have needed for so long, what we are seeking in the physical sense, has arrived. 

  I call it one of the Happily Ever After cards.  It shows a joyful family situation in addition to the prosperous overtones.  It’s most basic meaning is that of a positive domestic situation.

Oh, and I saw a car from Tennessee today.  I have maybe seen one other of those in years.  (There are so many things wrong with that last sentence, too bad, my arm hurts.)

Adaptation of the Ancient.

     Our journey through the years began before I turned 30, and it ends (at least for this telling) last December, when I am 48.  There was a three and a half year gap between the last tattoo (yesterday’s story) and this one.  Sometimes it takes a while to save up enough pennies, other times I’m not inspired (which means I don’t NEED new ink at that point), often it’s just personal, life stuff just doesn’t drop into place so we keep moving forward and wait for the right moment.

   I had researched this particular one for quite some time because it was an image I’d been drawn to since I was first made aware of it in about the 7th grade.  It resonated with me, in a way I now know is a past-life connection, or memory.  You can google around to see the many faces of its representation.  People have been “discovering” goddess images for a huge amount of time now, and that’s because, on a planetary level, goddess culture reigned for a huge amount of time.  Followers naturally crafted symbols of their deities.  In what we now call The Greek Isles, some of these icons have been named Minoan Snake Goddesses.  They have been found with many different styles of headdresses and several different patterns of embellishments.  They are made of many different materials and in a wide variety of sizes.  But the basic shape remains consistent: full breasted, tiny waisted with bell-shaped skirts.  For the Winter Solstice 2009, after months of sketching, adjusting, and researching, Wulff and I put my interpretation of her into ink.

     We put a Horns of Isis type of symbol on her head because it felt the most true to me and he chose this patterning on her dress because that felt the most authentic to him.  We also changed her arms.  In all of the ones we could find, she either had both arms up, or both arms down, always with a snake on them, or in her hands.  I went for something in between (being all asymetrical and all), and he wrapped a snake with green coloring around her left wrist, to match mine.  (He’s thoughtful like that.)  Next year we are going to add some extra tones to her waist, it ended up looking kinda blank as we originally had it.  Yesterday you saw both my arms together, here’s my legs.

   That’s all I’ve got.  And now you know why.  No, I have nothing for the 5th Element, no tattoos on my back or chest.  Yet.  Any questions?